Unconditionally: The Good, the Bad and Our Choices
by Nutter-Lamb-Chops
Summary: "Sometimes these people do terrible things because they do not know right from wrong. Unfortunately, there was a very bad man who came and took the life of your parents." – Sirius attempts to explain how James and Lily died to a six year old Harry. An "Unconditionally" one shot, but can be read alone. AU - Sirius raised Harry.


"**Sometimes these people do terrible things because they do not know right from wrong. Unfortunately, there was a very bad man who came and took the life of your parents." – Sirius attempts to explain how James and Lily died to a six year old Harry. An "Unconditionally" one shot, but can be read alone. AU**

**Hello all! ****When I first began to write "Unconditionally", I wondered how on earth Sirius could explain the nature of Lily and James's death to his godson. I'm sure he would have wanted to avoid that moment for as long as possible, but deemed it necessary that he be the one to explain the story to Harry, before he found out from complete strangers. He just didn't expect to divulge the information when Harry was only six.**

**This is the first of many young Harry one shots, in which Sirius is learning how to deal with "parenthood." I hope you enjoy and please ****don't forget to review! :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Wish I did. This fact makes me depressed enough to eat many carbohydrates in an effort to cheer myself up.**

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND OUR CHOICES

Sirius lay on the couch, stretching luxuriously as he read a magazine. It was Saturday evening, and for the first time in a few years he had spent the day doing absolutely nothing. However, the young man knew that in the end, he would rather spend his weekend taking Harry to the park then spending time alone.

Harry had been absent for the day, as he was having a play date with Ron. The Weasley's had taken the boys to Diagon Alley for the afternoon. Sirius smiled, knowing full well that Harry would have bolted to Quality Quidditch Supplies with his friend the moment they arrived. His godson was definitely going to be a quidditch player, just like his father. Sirius imagined watching Harry play at Hogwarts in the years to come, and he was determined to see every game that he played in.

He looked at the clock; it was almost five p.m. and Harry would be home in a couple of hours. Sirius's stomach growled with hunger but he was holding out until Harry arrived so that they could get pizza, Harry's favourite food. He was therefore surprised when the fireplace suddenly burst into flames and Arthur emerged with his six year old godson.

"Hello, Arthur! Wasn't expecting you so early." He looked at the small boy. "Harry?" Sirius gazed at his godson in concern. Harry's face was covered in tears, his whole body shaking. The little boy ran up the stairs, leaving a bewildered Sirius standing in the living room. He turned to Arthur who shrugged also in confusion.

"I don't know what happened," he said honestly, scratching his balding head. "One minute the boys are having fun, the next Harry was bolting out of Quality Quidditch Supplies, crying. Ron won't tell me why either; you know those two always cover for each other."

"I'd better go speak to him," Sirius said, looking at the staircase. He turned to smile at the red-headed man. "Thanks for looking after him, Arthur."

"Not a worry, Sirius." The balding man flooed back home.

Sirius made his way up the stairs, thinking hard. Harry was not someone who cried for attention or to get what he wanted; that was something Sirius loved about him. No, something happened and Sirius was determined to get to the bottom of it. If someone had hurt him...the man clenched his fists. He forced himself to calm down as he made his way to Harry's room.

"Harry," he said softly, poking his head through the door. "May I please come in?"

Harry was curled up in bed face down on his pillow. The little boy nodded in response. Sirius sat down next to him, stroking his hair gently. "Arthur told me what happened at Diagon Alley today."

Harry refused to lift his head from his pillow. Sirius sat on Harry's bed, waiting for the boy to say something. Finally, he got a response.

"Did I kill mummy and daddy?"

Sirius gaped at Harry in shock. He had not expected this. Where on earth did he hear that? "Please look at me, Pronglet." Harry obeyed, sitting up and looking at Sirius with teary eyes.

"What would make you think that, Harry?" The little boy looked away from him, clearly trying to act like a 'big boy'. He had done the same thing last week when he fell and scraped his knees at the playground and had not told Sirius. The animagus later found Harry trying to fix his wounds with Sirius's wand, setting fire to his shorts in the process.

"Tell me what happened from the start, Harry. Arthur was a little vague about the details."

"We were at Quality Quidditch supplies, and Ron was looking at the new Cleansweep, and saying that he wanted the broom the twins have. Then a boy named Draco came up to us and said that I should be spending my time with better company. Then he started being nasty to Ron, saying he is poor and can't afford even a broom handle. So I told him to go away and that he was mean. That's when he said that his father told him that I was a mistake that should never been born and that I was the one who…who killed my parents." He broke into sobs again, wiping his eyes against his sleeve.

Sirius felt fury course through him, and he made a mental note to have a word with Lucius Malfoy the next time he ran into him at the ministry about keeping his goddamn lying mouth shut. Harry must have sensed his anger because he looked at Sirius apprehensively. The man hastily rearranged his facial expression before Harry thought that he was angry with him.

"You did NOT kill your parents, Harry," he said firmly. Harry looked away from him again, clearly doubting his words.

"Draco said I did," the six year old sobbed. "He said they were mur-murdered because of me."

Sirius groaned inwardly. He had never divulged the true nature of Lily and James's death to Harry. Six years old was far too young to be told such a horrific story. He cursed the Malfoy's and their malicious joy in tormenting an innocent child. He closed his eyes, thinking hard. Harry would learn the truth soon enough; there would be people completely insensitive to the mind of a little boy. He couldn't tell Harry all the facts of that night, but since Harry already knew that his parents had been murdered, lying now would only make it worse down the track. Sirius was torn, as he always seemed to be since he had become Harry's guardian.

"Were they murdered?" Harry whispered with wide eyes.

"Your mum and dad loved you very much," Sirius answered, thinking hard. He took another deep breath before continuing. "They loved you so much that they would do anything to protect you." He continued to stroke the boy's hair gently. "But there are some people who cannot understand the love for a child, or anyone for that matter. They cannot feel like the rest of us can." He paused again, hoping he was going the right way with this story. "Sometimes these people do terrible things because they do not know right from wrong. Unfortunately, there was a very bad man like this who came and took the life of your parents."

Harry's eyes widened even more. "So it was because of me?"

Sirius kicked himself, worrying that he had further stoked Harry's fear. "No, Pronglet. These people without feeling will not be swayed into being good. He did what he did because he wanted to do it. No one could have prevented him. He was a very bad man and your parents, even though they tried so hard, couldn't stop him."

"But he's gone now," Harry murmured, looking at Sirius. The man nodded.

"Yes, he's gone and he can never return." Sirius only hoped that that was true.

"Where are mummy and daddy now?" Harry questioned. Sirius didn't know what happened when someone died, but Harry needed an answer.

"I don't know what happens when we pass away," he admitted wistfully. "But I like to think of it as the next big adventure. I know in my heart that they are watching us, and they are still protecting you wherever they are. Besides, the people we love never truly leave us because they are always remembered in our hearts. You may not have known them for long but you'll always remember what they did, and how much they loved you." He realised that Harry wasn't the only one with tears in his eyes and he dabbed the moisture on his face with his hand. He looked at Harry, knowing that there was more that he had to tell his godson in the years to come; for now, this was enough.

"So Draco's dad was wrong?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Lucius Malfoy is one of the nastiest, bast-" he stopped quickly, before he went any further. Only a few days ago Molly Weasley had chastised him for teaching Harry a bad word, which Harry had then taught Ron. Apparently the red-headed boy could not stop saying it, even calling Arthur the said word when he was told to go to bed. Privately, Sirius thought that Molly should be grateful that he hadn't taught Harry far worse expressions. Nonetheless he had told his godson not to swear anymore, to which Harry replied "But you do it!" Since then, the animagus had tried to refrain from using bad words; unfortunately, it was hard to break the habit.

"He is not a nice person," Sirius continued. "The Malfoy's in general are mean people who take pleasure in making others lives miserable. The way he spoke about you to his son is not the first time a Malfoy has been nasty to someone. I guess that's only what you can expect from a Slytherin."

"So you don't hate me?" Harry asked fearfully. Sirius felt as though his heart was breaking at Harry's words. Pulling Harry towards him, he hugged him and stroked his hair; a gesture he knew would soothe his godson. Harry relaxed against his godfather's chest with a sigh, perfectly content to stay there.

"I could never hate you, Pronglet." Sirius turned Harry's face so he could look into his eyes, willing him into believing his words. "Words cannot express how much I love you."

"I don't ever want to see him again," Harry said determinedly. Sirius knew that he meant Draco and sighed.

"I have a feeling that Draco is going to become a constant figure in your life, he's the same age as you. He will be in your year at Hogwarts."

Harry whimpered, looking up at Sirius fearfully. "I don't wanna be around him!"

"I know," said Sirius sympathetically. He continued to hug Harry to his chest. "Unfortunately, we can't always choose to remove people entirely from our lives. Like it or not, they will be there. But you do have a choice though."

"I do?" Harry asked nervously.

"You can let Draco torment you into feeling miserable and scared. Or you can rise above it, pay no attention to his cra- I mean his rubbish, and walk away with your head held high. There are times where it will be harder to ignore but in the end, you still need to remember who you are. No bully should take that knowledge away from you." He smiled down at the little boy, relieved that he seemed to be taking in his words. "Don't let a nasty little toad like Draco Malfoy make you doubt yourself. You are, and always have been a wonderful person. Your parents would be so proud of who you are."

Harry smiled slightly in return, burying his head underneath Sirius's arm. They stayed like that for a while, Harry hiccoughing on his tears every once in a while.

"Love you, Sirius," Harry murmured into his chest. Sirius smiled into Harry's hair; he could never lose the joy he felt when he heard those words.

"Love you too, Pronglet," he answered, ruffling his godson's hair. "Do you feel like pizza for dinner?" he questioned, knowing straight away what the answer would be. Harry's face lit up instantly.

"Yeah!" he replied excitedly. Sirius smiled at him.

"You wanna annoy the hell out of that nasty old man who scowls at us every time we ask for a difficult order?"

"I'm gonna ask for a cheese pizza with chocolate sauce on top," Harry declared enthusiastically, a devious grin on his face. Sirius was strongly reminded of James when thinking of a prank, and he felt a little pang in his heart. Pondering what cheese pizza with chocolate sauce was going to taste like, he shook his head, knowing full well that Harry would end up devouring _his _pizza instead. Sirius pulled the little boy's jumper over his head, and they took off hand in hand, discussing what disgusting toppings they would put on Moony's pizza the next time he came around.

As for Lucius Malfoy, Sirius had a dungbomb with his name on it just waiting to be used. He smirked as they walked to the pizzeria.

_No one messes with my little Pronglet._

I…I


End file.
